


hockey, skating, and other bad decisions

by leafytea



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Reality Show, Alternate Universe - Skating, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, I'm Bad At Tagging, M/M, Misunderstandings, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-30
Updated: 2019-07-30
Packaged: 2020-07-27 11:48:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20045500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leafytea/pseuds/leafytea
Summary: Tony is an infamous figure skater, and Steve is a retired hockey player. After getting paired up together for a reality TV show, Skating with the Stars, the two need to learn how to work together, for the sake of their reputation. Will the two look past their differences and win the competition?





	hockey, skating, and other bad decisions

Tony landed an axel, gliding backwards on one leg as he spread his hands open. The harsh notes of _Back in Black_ blasted in the rink, and Tony continued to skate on the ice, bobbing his head to the song.

The music suddenly paused, and Tony skid to a stop, confused. He turned around, and next to his set up was Pepper, a displeased look on her face.

"You know, I've been standing here for about..." She checked her watch. "fifteen minutes. And as great as practicing is, you had a meeting. Note the word _had_."

Tony flashed Pepper a smile as he sat down on the bleachers, mopping his face with a towel. "If it was really that important, they would've called me."

It was true. Even if these people were offering everything that Tony needed right now, Tony had a schedule. Or something. He needed to practice, just like Pepper said. Their show, it's called Skating with the Stars, or some bullshit like that. It was your regular reality TV show, with all the unnecessary drama and whatnot. These celebrities are paired up with professionals, and the 'stars' have to be taught a dance routine every week. At the end of the week, there will be four judges to see who is the best that round. At the end of the show, all the points from the previous rounds will be added up, and the final two will go to the finale. Tony liked watching these types of things, not to be a part of it. But he knew that this was his chance to be out to do actual, professional, competitions on ice again.

"Tony, being present is important. They finally assigned you a partner for you. And if you were there-"

"Hold up. They picked my partner without me being there?" Tony paused as he looked up and stared at Pepper. "You met them, right? Who are they?"

"Tony, you would have seen for yourself if you came to the meeting. I had to show up there, without you, and explain that, no, I wasn't lost, and yes, Tony Stark stood you up."

Tony slipped off his skates and put them next to him, wiggling his toes around. "Pepper, I'm sorry. I'll buy you a new pair of heels. The ones that you have currently are looking kinda tired, if you ask me. Don’t think that I saw you eyeing that black pair when we were window shopping the other day. Though you have at least three other pairs just like that. But it’s fine!" Tony clapped his hands together and laced on his shoes. "So now that's dealt with, who is it?"

Pepper ignored Tony’s apology and his attempt at bribery. "Tony, you need to start caring about this. This might be your revival! Just being on this show can help you get back up top!" She sat down next to Tony, carefully moving his skates. "I understand that you feel the need to practice, but I just need you to put a little effort, alright?"

"Alright. I'll... go to the stupid meetings. Only for you, Pep." 

And considering that his whole career relied on this stupid show, but that didn't matter. Tony sighed, taking a gulp of his water.

Pepper put an arm around his shoulder. "You'll be fine, Tony. Come on," She stood up, a mischievous grin stretched across her face. "You can take me shopping, like you need to. A red pair, this time."

Tony smiled back, gripping his skates in one hand and his water bottle in the other. "A red pair, huh? Is Miss Potts finally showing her true, rebel self?"

Pepper rolled her eyes as she helped gather the rest of Tony's stuff. "One day, you'll run out of quips to say, and that day, I'll laugh in your face."

They left the ice rink and after buying Pepper her desired heels, she dropped him back at his house. Tony stepped out of the car and then turned around. "Hey, Pep. You still haven't told me about my partner."

She had an amused look on her face, both her hands gripping the steering wheel. "Oh, yeah. It's the hockey guy, you know, Steve Rogers. Okay, I'm leaving now. Remember, I rescheduled the meeting that you were supposed to go to today to tomorrow. Don't forget!"

Pepper drove off laughing as Tony stood there in shock. He called after her car, "Steve Rogers?! Pepper...!”

~

Steve Rogers was once a world wide known hockey player, nicknamed Captain America from his teammates. Tony didn't know if it was because of his patriotic ways of expression or something else on the field, but he was famous. He was the captain of the Avengers with many other players like his best friend Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson, otherwise known as the Winter Soldier and Falcon. Tony never understood the need for hockey nicknames, but whatever floats their boat.

Steve had been injured in the Olympic finals, as well as Barnes, who was banged up so badly that they had to give him a prosthetic. Steve on the other hand, was lucky. Just a mild concussion and a broken arm. After not being able to play for a few months, Rogers shocked the United States by announcing that he was going to retire from the team. He'd been off the grid for a year or so, and now he's joining this competition. 

Tony closed the file that an eye patched man named Fury in front of him handed to in the beginning of their meeting. Of course, Tony had known everything before hand, because it was fucking Steve Rogers. Everybody knew who he was.

Fury seemed to be the director of the whole shebang, though you wouldn't have known it unless somebody told you. He looked like the type of guy to yell at 'hooligans' from his front porch, not direct a fucking reality show.

"Well? Does he meet your standards, Mr. Stark?" Fury gave him a stare, and Tony was sure that if he said no, Fury would flip the table that he was sitting behind. 

"It's not like I have a choice," Tony mumbled as he stood up and handed the folder back to Fury. "Now, are we getting started? Where's the rink? Are we going to have separate rinks for every couple? How's this going to work?"

Fury placed the file back onto his desk as he got up and escorted Tony out of his office. "All your questions, Mr. Stark, can be taken up with Maria over here." 

The door slammed behind Tony. Jesus, he acted like he had a stick in his butt. A brown haired girl greeted him, a clipboard in hand. "Mr. Stark. I'm Maria. Follow me, I'll take you to meet the other competitors."

"Does he always act like that? He's like a humanized version of an angry bear." Tony mused as he walked behind Maria, glancing at the rooms they passed by.

Maria didn't respond with anything but a curt smile, stopping in front of one of the identical rooms in this long hallway. She opened the door, inviting Tony to walk in. "Go on in. Everybody's already in there."

Tony entered the room and was surprised to find it nicely decorated, a few couches in the corner of the room and a round table on the other side. All the people in the room turned to look at him. Tony gave them all a wave of his hand, giving them all a smile. It was fake, but he hadn't smiled genuinely in a while. So what did they do to deserve a real one? "Hey, everyone."

Tony turned around to ask Maria all of his rejected questions from Fury, but saw that she was already half-way down the hallway, speaking into her little earpiece. Alrighty, then.

Tony cleared his throat as he sat down on one of the couches, taking a cookie from the coffee table situated in the middle of the room. Everybody's eyes were still on him. God, this was weird. Was it really because...? Yeah, probably.

Finally, a red-headed girl spoke up. "I'm Natasha. Nice to meet you, Tony." She stuck out a hand.

Tony shook Natasha's hand, wincing as she squeezed his palm tightly. "Thanks," Tony managed to let his hand free from her grip, shaking the pain from his hand. "You really got a... firm shake there, huh?"

"Yeah, we call it the death grip," A lanky boy grinned back at Tony. "Don't worry, it means she likes you. I think. I'm Clint Barton. Maybe you've heard of me?"

"You're... you're the archer. Didn't you win gold in the Olympics?"

"Sure did. It was a hard competition, but I crushed the other opponents," Clint's smile grew as he flexed his arms. "These bad boys hit bullseye every time."

Natasha rolled her eyes as she slapped Clint's arms away. "Ignore him." 

Soon enough, there were people left and right introducing themselves, shaking Tony's hand. Tony recognized many of them from his TV screen and competitions from the past. If they knew about... what happened, they didn't mention it. 

Tony swiped the cookie crumbs off of his shirt. There was someone missing. "Hey, have you guys met Steve Rogers yet?"

The curly haired boy, Bruce, piped up. "Yeah. I'm pretty sure he's at the rink across from here, where the show is going to be held."

"Oh. Okay, I'll be back soon."

A chorus of goodbyes rang out from the group, and Tony was just... didn't understand. They were all so nice to him, like they didn't care about his background or the fiasco...

After wandering around for a few minutes, Tony managed to find a large rink, bleachers surrounding the ice. It looked like a regular ice rink, besides the cameras and other set up in the back. There was somebody there, sitting down. That must be him. He opened the glass door and stepped down the stairs, the cool air meeting his skin. Tony stopped in front of whom he assumed was Steve, leaning on the glass enclosure around the ice. "Hey."

The man looked up, straightening his back, and the first thing that Tony noticed was that yes, this man was definitely Steve Rogers. The second thing that he noticed was his stance. His posture, stiff and alert, reminded Tony of a military guard, or a soldier. 

"Sorry, I didn't know if I could come here yet- wait, are you...?" Steve's eyes flashed in recognition and his calm but strong demeanor shifted, his eyes boring into him.

Tony tensed, a wave of defensiveness running up his back. He didn't like the way Steve was staring at him, judging eyes shifting from his face back down to his water bottle in his hand. He had hockey skates on, and his cheeks were red. Tony assumed that Steve had been doing a few laps around the rink before this. Steve stood up and stuck out a hand.

"Steve Rogers."

Tony took his hand and shook once. "Tony Stark," He let go and turned away from Steve, looking at the glittering ice in front of them. "Decided to join the dancers, huh? Who knew."

"Didn't have time before, since I was the captain-"

"Of the hockey team who won gold, yeah, yeah, I get it," Tony eyed the blue logo in the middle of the rink, Skating with the Stars, in cursive swirly letters. "No need to boast, Rogers."

The atmosphere immediately changed, and Tony could feel Steve's glare burning into him. 

"Says the cheater."

Tony whirled around, meeting Steve's hard gaze. "You keep up with the classier sports, captain?"

"The sport is classy, but the people?" Steve shrugged, a shit eating grin on his face.

"There are higher, more advanced words to describe us. Not that you would understand any." Tony shot back.

"Oh _please_. You only skate for yourself. To win, for fame, for money. You don't care about anything else besides that fact. You would cheat for it."

"At least when I'm skating for myself I have more wins than losses. Without any help, unlike your team." Tony's voice was rough, scraping against his throat. "Plus, I would be a better captain than you, letting one of my players lose a complete arm."

Tony could tell that he hit a nerve with that one. "We still won gold, even after that. Because we're a team, and in this world, you need allies to survive." Steve stepped forward, and Tony had to tilt his head to meet his eyes, which angered him even more. Stupid.

"Well, look where I am now."

"You're here on a reality TV show just so you can put your name back out there after a year or so of hiding away from the press. You hope to win the show, so people can see that you have so called 'talent' underneath all of the lies." They were inches from each other now.

Tony was fuming. "Oh yeah? What are you doing here, Mr. Perfect? Admit it. You just want to be in the spotlight again, and this is the perfect opportunity. Does retirement bore you, old man?"

"Come on. Put on your skates and we can race a few rounds. With those skinny legs, you won't stand a chance." 

"It seems like you two met." They both whipped their heads toward the source of the voice. Fury was by the doorway, his arms crossed.

Tony stepped backward, grumbling under his breath. He didn't want to work with this fucking asshole.

Steve seemed to have the same idea. "Fury, maybe we could switch out partners or something? I don't think that we're exactly suited to work together."

"No switching. You keep the same partner that you have."

"Fury, he's a hockey player! He won't be able to keep up in a routine, let alone an event!"

"What does that mean?" Steve cut in, his voice sharp.

"In baby talk, it means that you're an amateur, Rogers. Or do you not know what that means either? It means-"

"I'm_ not_ an amateur!"

"I bet you've never even worn figure skates, have you?"  
"I have! Once!"

"Once?" Tony snorted. "_Definitely_ an amateur."

"You're the one who desperately needs a partner, so it wouldn't exactly be a good idea to throw me out just yet."

"Desperately? I-"

"And, I'm not a cheater. Maybe you'll actually have a chance to win this time."

"I think I will take you up on that race, Rogers," Tony glanced down at Steve's beat up hockey skates. "If you're able to keep up with me on figure skates, I'll back off."

Steve sat down and started to unlace his shoes with fast and nimble fingers. "You're on."


End file.
